Tourist Found Alive After Car was Swept by Floods in Alice Springs

After a car was swept away by floods in Alice Springs, two occupants of the car were able to escape, but one remained trapped in the car.

The third person was later found alive and well with only minor injuries, according to the ABC news report. Six other people are missing in the border area between Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Incident

Three tourists in a small sedan were swept off by floods in Alice Springs. The sedan was reportedly swept off a causeway on Larapinta Drive and into the Hugh River at around 1pm on Tuesday.

The driver and one passenger had managed to escape, but one more person was trapped inside the vehicle and was swept approximately 250m down the river.

Concerns

Northern Territory police had “grave concerns”, but luckily the tourist was rescued with only minor injuries, according to ABC news.

According to witnesses, the car rolled over twice before it was wedged up against a tree. Acting Superintendent Brendan Muldoon of the NT police said the tourists had misjudged the depth of the water as they drove into the causeway.

“We’re urging motorists in the NT to not crossed flooded causeways, not enter flooded rivers. … We do need to consider our own safety when trying to rescue these people, but if the conditions are available, we will be entering the water with our flood boat and trying very hard to locate this missing person.”

The rescue was also made more complicated by the fact that there was no cellphone reception at the location.

A search is also being held for a group of five adults and a child who has also set out on a trip to Kintore, Australia on Sunday.

According to Muldoon, the group had been missing for around 48 hours.

“Police airmen should be doing an aerial surveillance search of the Kintore Road in an attempt to locate those people.”

“We believe they are from a remote Indigenous community and not really sure of exactly what resources they do have, but we haven’t had any contact with them yet.”